Well folks we’re winding down the year 2010, and this is my last thread post of the year. I don’t know about you, but, I’m so looking forward to 2011. I lost my dad this year, and both of my daughters got married, and I’m so grateful that I’m alive and made it through two important Celebrations of Life. And yes, honoring the death of a loved one is also a celebration.

There’s plenty to be grateful for. What are you grateful for, as we wind down another year of living adventurously?

21 Responses to Serendipity SOUL-Thursday Open Thread

Geraldine Hoff Doyle, the inspiration for “Rosie the Riveter,” died on Sunday at the age of 86 due to complications from arthritis, the Washington Post reports.
Rosie’s story began in the 1940s, when the 17-year-old Doyle was working at a metal factory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A visiting United Press International photographer snapped a pic of her on the job.
The image was then used by artist J. Howard Miller for the “We Can Do It!” poster, released during World War II. As the Washington Post writes, “For millions of Americans throughout the decades since World War II, the stunning brunette in the red and white polka-dot bandanna was Rosie the Riveter.”

On Wednesday night, Mediaite’s Frances Martel wrote a lengthy, thoughtful piece of media criticism centered around Princeton Professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell’s appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show, concluding that Harris-Lacewell’s point about the historical context of the Michael Vick story was “lost in translation.”

As it turns out, her instincts were dead-on. The segment ran short by three minutes, but Frances was able to update her post with Harris-Lacewell’s own clarification. Instead of thanking Frances for fixing their mistake, however, TRMS producer Jamil Smith slammed her in a blog post, and on Twitter.

Let’s start with the Michael Clemente-esque response from The Maddowblog, complete with passive-agressive congratulation:

Last night’s segment on Michael Vick and the President was the subject o

a rather curious blog post on Mediaite, less than an hour after the show aired. “Curious” is meant literally, for it was a blind effort to understand what our guest, Melissa Harris-Perry, had been saying.

Let me be brief here: the post reads like a cautionary tale for leaping before looking. (The comments that the writer’s misinterpretation inspired are well, inspiring.) There’s the initial overreaction, followed by the subsequent “Oh, that’s what she meant” update that posted Dr. Harris-Perry’s tweets expanding her points. The live-television reality is that her segment was cut so short was because we ran out of time. I’m glad, as the producer of the segment, that Dr. Harris-Perry was able to find a public medium so quickly to share her thoughts and clarify her remarks. Not soon enough for all those who copied the post, it appears.

I’m also glad that Mediaite is watching our show, that they’re feel so urgent a need to write about the topics we cover, and that their writer corresponded with Dr. Harris-Perry to get her actual perspective so soon after the post went up. That said, this episode shows that “Fools Rush In” isn’t just a bad flick starring Matthew Perry, if you know what I mean. It’s also a warning.

MSNBC … Nothing but drama queens. Check out The Nation article from Professor Harris-Perry on the Tucker Carlson thread.

In a 2009 study of students in developing and developed countries, the United States ranked lower than most countries in educational performance regardless that we spend more per pupil than any other country except Luxembourg. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, “This is an absolute wake-up call for America,” and that, “We have to face the brutal truth. We have to get much more serious about investment in education.” It is true that America invests heavily in education, but there are factors that are not directly related to funding, and certainly not related to race.

However, without doing any research, Pat Buchanan cited a racist who claims that the statistics of the Paris-based OECDs Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests in reading, math and science skills of 15-year-olds in over 30 countries suggest that America’s low standing is because of the diminished learning ability of Hispanic and Black students. In other words, Buchanan believes that Black and Hispanic students have lower IQs than white and Asian students and are responsible for the decline in performance on standardized tests.

I loather this sob. Will Rachel or Keith call out their colleague’s blatant racism?

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry’s anti-Washington rhetoric, which helped hand him a re-election landslide, is about to be put to the test as he girds for a series of states’ rights clashes with the federal government.

The Lone Star State governor’s drive to gain more control of clean air regulations, Medicaid health coverage for the poor, immigration and border security will sharpen the national attention on Perry just as he becomes the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

With that, the ambitious 60-year-old West Texas politician is expected to fortify a coast-to-coast crusade against what he calls the long and oppressive reach of Uncle Sam.

“The timing is right,” says University of Houston political scientist Jim Granato. “With the wind of the November elections at his back, Gov. Perry could sustain and even accelerate the (Republicans’) current political momentum.”

By galvanizing GOP governors, coordinating efforts with ascendant Republicans on Capitol Hill and barnstorming on behalf of his book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington, Perry hopes to foment a rebellion against federal regulation that could trigger the most sweeping devolution of federal powers to the states in decades.

“The governor has a great passion for freeing states from the one-size-fits-all mentality. He firmly believes that if you unleash the states you get good ideas for solving problems — not a magic wand, but good ideas,” says Dave Carney, a veteran GOP political consultant and Perry confidante.

Anti-Washington ‘games’
Texas Democrats, on the other hand, take umbrage.

“Perry employs his version of a states’ rights campaign, which is to rail against the federal government while completely ignoring every state issue that really matters to Texas,” said Anthony Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party. “Perry’s anti-Washington political games have scored him political points but they’ve left Texas with struggling schools, children without health insurance and a battered environment.”

Perry’s coming offensive reflects the priorities of the tea party rebellion that resulted in significant GOP midterm election gains.

“Perry sees these disputes as a springboard to leading the 10th Amendment revolt,” says Norman Ornstein, a political scientist at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. “He clearly wants the confrontation with the federal government.”

Some Republicans watching the cluttered 2012 presidential field may have found an unlikely point of disagreement: the first lady and flab.

Sarah Palin has taken to assailing Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity initiative on her reality show and elsewhere, while former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, the Republican Party’s resident authority on obesity and a potential Palin rival, has been defending it from Palin’s salvos. Two other possible GOP presidential contenders, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.), have also praised Obama’s efforts.

In a recent broadcast of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” the former governor, high school basketball player and avid runner prepared s’mores (ingredients: marshmallows, Hershey’s chocolate bars and graham crackers) and said the treat was “in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert.”

In fact, the first lady has never suggested that sweets be banned from the dinner table, cafeteria or campground. She says she tells her daughters, Sasha and Malia, that “dessert is not a right” and that meals should be balanced with fruits and vegetables.

What the Sno’Ho doesn’t realize is that everything the FLOTUS is advocating are CONSERVATIVE values… Can you say SELF-RESPONSIBILITY, Sarah? No, probably can’t spell it either. there are options, make choices.. dipshit

PARSONS, Kan. — An unlikely pilgrimage is under way to Dwayne’s Photo, a small family business that has through luck and persistence become the last processor in the world of Kodachrome, the first successful color film and still the most beloved.

That celebrated 75-year run from mainstream to niche photography is scheduled to come to an end on Thursday when the last processing machine is shut down here to be sold for scrap.

Black Girls Rock!

Flickr Photos

Potus Takes Oath of Office

Flotus & Daughters at Great Wall of China

My Brothers Keeper

AFRO PUFFS

Most Adorable Shoe Stealer

Six Little Babies

Fatherhood

Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.